Captain leads charge

STOCKTON - The urgency kicked in right on time for the Pacific women's basketball team on Wednesday night as it fought to remain unbeaten this season.

Jagdip Dhillon

STOCKTON - The urgency kicked in right on time for the Pacific women's basketball team on Wednesday night as it fought to remain unbeaten this season.

The Tigers were playing a lackluster, foul-plagued first half against Fresno State and trailed by seven with 2:25 remaining before halftime. That's when senior captain Kendall Rodriguez spurred a 7-0 run, scoring five points and assisting on center Shanice Butler's basket to tie the game 32-32 at the break.

The rest of the team matched that effort in the second half, dominating the Bulldogs en route to a 66-56 victory before 427 at Spanos Center. The victory helped Pacific avenge last season's 61-52 loss to Fresno State at Save Mart Center.

"We were down seven and that was a first for us this season and we had three starters on the bench (with foul trouble)," said Rodriguez, who finished with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. "As the captain, I felt like I had to step up. It was nice to be able to regroup in the second half and get aggressive again."

Pacific (6-0) still hasn't trailed in the second half of a game this season, which is quite an accomplishment considering how out of sorts it looked for much of the first half against the Bulldogs. Fresno State (2-2) drew 15 fouls in the first half, got into the double-bonus with 11 minutes remaining, made 13 of 16 free throws and left all five Pacific starters with two fouls.

"People stepped in and played and that's a testament to our toughness, because nothing was going our way," Pacific coach Lynne Roberts said. "I have a ton of respect for that program and those players, so this is a confidence booster and a legitimate win."

Fresno State has made five consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament and this season's team under first-year coach Raegen Pebley has six of the top seven scorers from last season. Pacific did a nice job against Fresno State's leading scorer Ki-Ki Moore, who had 20 points, but on 8-of-20 shooting. The Bulldogs made 2 of 17 3-point attempts and shot 29.9 percent from the field.

While Rodriguez and fellow seniors Erica McKenzie (10 points, six assists) and Ashley Wakefield (10 points and guarded Moore) anchored the Tigers, Roberts was pleased with contributions she received from the bench. Sophomore Claire Conricode made two 3-pointers in the first half, while the rest of the team struggled on offense, and Butler had five points and three rebounds in 18 minutes, and sophomore center Kendall Kenyon (8 points, 10 rebounds in 16 minutes) was limited by foul trouble.

"It's a relief to get the win, because they're such a great team and it's always a battle with them," McKenzie said. "(Being 6-0) is a great feeling, but we try not to pay attention to the record. We want to just focus on working and getting better."

Pacific's next home game isn't until Dec. 29. The Tigers will play four tough games on the road over the next four weeks. Pacific will play Monday at San Jose State, Dec. 7 at Florida, Dec. 15 at No. 1 Stanford and Dec. 20 at Saint Mary's.